Dreaded Diet Plateau

MICHELEJOYSUNDE

The first month I lost 10 lbs and was so motivated. This past month I have hit the dreaded diet plateau! I have been maintaining but haven't lost another pound. I have 30 more pounds to loose and am feeling frustrated. Suggestions?

annastacia10

Challenge your body with some different workouts than what you have been doing or push yourself to go a little longer and harder at what you have been doing. I am right there with you girl. I have hit my plateau too in the last couple of weeks. Just DON'T give up! You can get past this hurdle!

Teeeravis

Fortunately, they can be broken with a bit of discipline:

1) Calorie Zig-zagging
2) Carb Cycling (kinda intense)
3) Switch workout routines
4) Increase focus on macronutrients (consuming too much sugar?, etc) / reorient them.
5) Increase water take

fullofhope

I hit the plateau for two weeks in a row, as a matter of fact I gained 2 pounds. The third week I lost 6.5. Just keep doing what you are doing, keep track of your exercise and calories. I am a firm believer of only weighing yourself ONCE a week. Pick a day weigh yourself in the morning and DON"T DEVIATE from that plan.

givprayz

For a month I've danced up and down, even though my diet and exercise have been pretty consistent and I have increased my water intake (a lot!) I am about one pound heavier today than on March 24th, even though I should have continued to lose about 1.5 pounds per week. I just keep staying the course, knowing that eventually my body will concede defeat and let the pounds go, or else I will have converted all the fat to muscle, in which case, who really cares what I weigh. I still look better than I have in many years, feel better than I have in at least 5 years, and know I am healthier for the changes I've made. Just keep working the plan, or tweaking the plan in good ways, but don't abandon the plan. It isn't just about the weight.

MyNameIsNotBob

It happened to me, too, right around the 3-month mark. (And it was a really frustrating place to be: 160... my first big goal was to get to 159, so it was super hard to deal with.)

Here's what I did:

Seriously slashed my alcohol intake (even though I was staying within my calories)
Cut my sodium and drank a TON of water
Switched up my exercise routine and kept my heart rate in "fat burning" instead of "aerobic" zone
Upped my calories and decreased my exercise (yes, really)!

The next week I zig-zagged my calories, and finally broke through the plateau (even with a couple of really splurge-y wedding meals).

Good luck!

wildsun

Calorie zig zag helped me get the scale moving again. Some say it isn't wise, but sometimes it seems you have to manipulate your body to do what you want it to (within reason).

MICHELEJOYSUNDE

Thank you for the great advice everyone!

pattyand

Thank goodness!! I thought I was the only one experiencing this problem!! Thank you for having the courage to post your story :-) I am going through plateau as well. Keep fighting!!